Monday, November 12, 2007
Red & Black honor fallen coach (video clip)
 | | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
| | |||||||||||||||||||
By: Brian Dwyer
WATERTOWN, N.Y. -- Saturday night was a big night on the field for Watertown's Semiprofessional football team, the Red & Black. But it was a much bigger night off the field.
Before Saturday's Harvest Bowl game, the team honored former coach Dave Connell.
Connell, also a Fort Drum soldier, was serving in Iraq when he was killed in an attack in May. He would have been home from his tour this week.
To honor Connell, the team had an Army helicopter fly in, and had Colonel Eric Peterson, the commander of the 10th Combat Aviation Division, bring out the game ball and flip the coin during the coin toss.
"That was very meaningful. I've missed all these guys that were over in Iraq," Red & Black Head Trainer Sam Verbeck said. "I miss Dave a lot. He was a good friend, a very good guy, a great coach. He was a great guy to be around and a great father to his kids."
The Red & Black have four members of its team that did make it home from their stint in Iraq. They played Saturday night for the first time in more than a year.
